P.J. Hubbard Keys 21-10 Win As Trojans Improve To 6-1 Overall
by John Hunt
posted October 11, 2008
The Soddy Daisy Trojan football team is clicking on all cylinders right now.
This time last year, they were making plans for basketball or wrestling while the idea of making the playoffs in football was a far-fetched dream.
Oh, how things have changed in such a short period of time.
Not only are they making playoff plans, but they’re still in the hunt for a Region 2-5A championship after Friday night’s 21-10 victory over the McMinn County Cherokees.
With the win, the Trojans are now 6-1 overall, 4-0 in 2-5A and tied with Farragut and Ooltewah for first place in the region.
The talk around town has been Soddy Daisy and their effective use of the spread offense.
Quarterback Scott Parrott continues to make good things happen from that perspective, but Friday’s win over a good McMinn County team should be credited to the Trojan defense.
McMinn County scored one touchdown in the second half as the Soddy Daisy defense kept the Cherokees backed up most of the evening.
While the Trojans were limiting McMinn to a negative 21 yards rushing in the final two quarters, the Cherokees were never able to recover from a 14-3 halftime deficit.
“McMinn County is by far the best team we’ve played so far,” said Soddy Daisy coach E.K. Slaughter after the game ended.
“Our defense played extremely well tonight, but they’ve been a work in progress since the first day we started.
"We’ve come a long way and that’s a credit to Steve,” he continued, referring to defensive coordinator Steve Garland.
While the defense made big play after big play, it was junior P.J. Hubbard who was a difference maker on offense.
Hubbard is coming into his own as a running back and he’s become a reliable receiver out of the backfield.
He’s also a threat returning kickoffs.
Hubbard gained 83 yards on the ground in 17 attempts while adding 72 yards on eight receptions.
But perhaps his biggest play of the game was an 86-yard kickoff return early in the second quarter that gave Soddy Daisy a first down at the McMinn 10.
He scored on the next play to extend the Trojan lead to 14-3 after McMinn had scored on a 28-yard field goal.
The Cherokees never recovered.
While Hubbard's TD was a one-play drive, the two others came on long, time-consuming drives.
The first one covered 80 yards and included 14 plays.
Donovan Barnes got the TD on an 8-yard pass from Parrott. Matt Dolberry’s PAT gave the Trojans the early lead with 35 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Cherokees countered with that 28-yard field goal by Stephen Stansel at the 8:55 mark of the second quarter, but 20 seconds later, Hubbard added to the Soddy Daisy lead following his long kickoff return.
The most impressive drive for the Trojans came on their first possession of the second half.
Starting at their own six-inch line following a 44-yard punt by Stansel, the Trojans marched 99-plus yards in just 11 plays with speedy Bubba Haney covering the final 37 yards on a perfectly-executed double reverse.
McMinn scored its only touchdown a minute later when Cy Ables connected with Josh Simpson on a 17-yard TD.
Neither team threatened the rest of the game as the Trojan defense kept the Cherokees under control.
Hubbard was all smiles when the game ended. When asked about getting caught on the long kickoff return, he smiled even more.
“I was trying to follow my blockers, but I guess I just made a bad read and cut the wrong way. They had the angle on me,” he explained.
“We just wanted to do what we always do on offense. They were expecting us to pass, so we just killed them with the run.
"Coach (Slaughter) told me before the game I was going to get plenty of chances tonight,” Hubbard added.
“P.J. has been getting stronger and stronger as the season progresses. He played his best game of the year last week and he had another great game tonight, but I’ll have to look at the film before I say it was better than last week.
"They lined up to stop the deep ball, so we went to the run more.
“Our game at Oak Ridge next week is really important, but they’re all big at this point,” Slaughter concluded.
McMinn County coach Bo Cagle wasn’t very happy when the final horn sounded.
“We didn’t come out ready to play and that’s my fault, but all we want is a chance to go to the playoffs. This one really hurts.
"I feel like we have a better team than Soddy Daisy, but we came out and played our worst game of the year.
“There’s no reason to quit at this point. We just need to come out on Monday and work to get better. We need to move past this game.
"It hurts bad, especially when I feel like they are no where near as good as we are,” Cagle told his team afterward.
McMinn County falls to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in Region 2-5A.
The Cherokees travel to William Blount next week while finishing the regular season with home games against Heritage and Bradley.
Soddy Daisy finished with 282 total yards, including 141 on the ground and 141 through the air.
Hubbard was the leader in both categories while Donovan Barnes had five catches for 46 yards.
McMinn County finished the game with 181 total yards, including 132 through the air and 49 on the ground.
Backup quarterback Drew Masingale was the leading rusher with 23 yards on five trips.
Tevin McDermott had five catches for 53 yards while Simpson had two grabs for 27 yards, including the 17-yard TD.
Dellano Ellison also had two catches for 25 yards.
Soddy Daisy finished with 16 first downs while McMinn County had 14.
While Soddy Daisy travels to Oak Ridge next Friday, the Trojans will host top-ranked Farragut in their final regular-season home game on Oct. 24 before the final game at Ooltewah on Oct. 31.
McMinn Co. 0 3 0 7 -- 10
Soddy Daisy 7 7 0 7 -- 21
SD – Donovan Barnes 8 pass from Scott Parrott (Matt Dolberry kick), 0:35 left in first;
MC – Stephen Stansel 28 field goal, 8:55 left in second;
SD – P. J. Hubbard 10 run (Dolberry kick), 8:35 left in second;
SD – Bubba Haney 37 run (Dolberry kick), 11:49 left in fourth;
MC – Josh Simpson 17 pass from Cy Ables (Stansel kick), 10:49 left in fourth.
(Email John Hunt at tnmoose2002@aol.com)
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